The Pittsburgh Pirates have been mired in a slump for the better part of a decade, last making the playoffs as a Wild Card in 2015.
The last time the franchise even won a playoff game was 2013, and the Pirates haven't won a division title since 1992 — two years before they joined the NL Central.
With the team struggling through a disastrous 12-26 start this season, it was far from surprising to learn that the Pirates have chosen to dismiss manager Derek Shelton after five-plus years at the helm. Bench coach Don Kelly will replace him.
Since taking over as manager prior to the 2020 season, Shelton has gone 306-440 in Pittsburgh. The Pirates looked to be making progress after back-to-back 76-86 seasons in 2023 and 2024, but the team's .316 winning percentage through May 8 is a marked step back from that, and even worse than 2021-22, when the team lost 100+ games in two consecutive seasons.
With Shelton gone, the hiring and firing process for managers has officially begun. Plenty of other coaches find themselves on the hot seat after tumultuous starts to 2025, but who actually faces uncertain job security?
3 MLB managers on the hot seat after Pirates fire Derek Shelton
Brandon Hyde, Baltimore Orioles
Let's get the most obvious candidate out of the way. Brandon Hyde took the O's job back in 2019, when the franchise was in the early stages of a deep rebuild.
After some lean years — the team lost 108 games in 2019 and 110 games in 2021 — the Orioles emerged as contenders in the second half of 2022, finishing 83-79. They built off that performance by winning the AL East with a 101-61 record in 2023, and they made the playoffs again as a Wild Card in 2024 (91-71).
Unfortunately, the team hasn't won a single playoff game under Hyde, and they currently sit last place in the AL East with a 13-22 record. The front office deserves a lot of blame for putting together a horrendous pitching staff, but don't expect Hyde to stick around much longer if the team doesn't catch fire soon.
Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins
After collapsing down the stretch in 2024, there was hope the Minnesota Twins could return to their 2023 form, when they broke a record 18-game losing streak in the playoffs and won the AL Central.
Unfortunately, things look as dire as ever in the Twin Cities this year, with Minnesota sitting at 17-20, 6.5 games behind the division-leading Tigers and well off pace of the Guardians and Royals. If it weren't for the Chicago White Sox's usual ineptitude, the Twins would likely be a last place team.
Manager Rocco Baldelli doesn't deserve blame for the team's laughably slow offseason, nor is he at fault for how injury-prone the Twins' stars have proven to be, but as the leader of a sinking ship, he'll likely get the axe before the year is out, barring a dramatic turnaround in one of baseball's most competitive divisions.
Brian Snitker, Atlanta Braves
Unlike the first two candidates on this list, Brian Snitker is likely safe. His Braves are sitting at a disappointing 17-19 — 6.0 games behind the division-leading Mets — but they've generally recovered from a historically poor start.
Still, the Braves were supposed to be the class of Major League Baseball for a long time thanks to all their shrewd contract extensions and trades. Instead, following a World Series victory in 2021 and back-to-back 100-plus-win seasons in 2022 and 2023, the team only won 89 games last year and got swept in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
If the team falls short of the dance altogether this year, ownership may not look too favorably upon the 2018 NL Manager of the Year, despite his long track record of success. This sport is a "What have you done for me lately?" business. Snitker better hope the team can course correct before he struggles to come up with a positive answer to that question.